Government help if you can’t pay your mortgage

If you’re struggling to meet your mortgage repayments there’s a range of government schemes that offer help. These include the Mortgage Rescue scheme, Support for Mortgage Interest, and other government benefits that might boost your income.

Scotland

The Scottish Government provides some support to home owners struggling to pay their mortgage through its Home Owners’ Support Fund.

The fund operates two schemes which home owners could apply for:

The Mortgage to Rent scheme where a social landlord buys your home and rents it back to you.

The Mortgage to Shared Equity scheme where the Scottish Government buys up to a 30% stake in your home, which reduces how much you owe on your mortgage. You continue to live in your home but make lower mortgage repayments as a result.

Support for Mortgage Interest

If you’re claiming a benefit such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Universal Credit you might be able to claim help with your mortgage interest payments. This is called Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).

Help with mortgage payments under Universal Credit

If you’re getting Universal Credit and you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, you might be able to get help with your interest payments.

You will only qualify for this if you have no ‘earned income’, such as pay from part-time or full-time work, and you don’t get any benefits from your employer such as Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay.

If you do qualify for help, the payments will usually be made direct to your mortgage lender and will be based on a set rate of interest applied to the amount you have outstanding on your mortgage (up to a maximum of £200,000).

You start to get this after a 3-month waiting period and the payments will stop as soon as you start work again, even if you’re only earning a small amount.

Benefits that might increase your income

It’s worth checking if you’re entitled to benefits to help boost your income to meet mortgage payments.

Check out Turn2Usopens in new window, a charitable service that helps people access welfare benefits, grants and other support.